The World’s Unlucky Days Are Not the Same Day

A friend who married into Mexico wanted to hold the wedding in October this year. Her mother-in-law pulled out an almanac-like booklet, looked once and shook her head: “Not that day. Martes 13.” My friend repeated the phrase to me with a blank face, and only after looking it up did I realise — the Spanish-speaking world does not fear Friday the 13th; it fears Tuesday the 13th. The date she had chosen landed squarely in the other pit on the Western calendar.

Three kinds of bad day, counted three different ways

The Spanish Wikipedia entry on “Martes 13” is explicit: in Greek and Spanish-speaking cultures (Spain, Cuba, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and others) it is Tuesday that is feared, while the taboo on the number 13 itself can be traced to the thirteenth guest at the Last Supper. One number, two days of dread, and an ocean between them in mutual puzzlement.

The Chinese side works on a completely different logic

The almanac does not look at “13”, nor at the day of the week. It looks at a whole combination: the sexagenary day count, the twelve day-officers, and a cast of deities. The Imperially Commissioned Concordance of Times and Directions, compiled by imperial order under the Qianlong emperor of the Qing, is the official digest of that system; volume ten of the Siku Quanshu edition is headed simply “Suitable and Unsuitable”, listing line by line which kinds of days suit sacrifices, marriage, betrothal gifts, or seeking medical help, and which suit nothing at all. Today’s almanacs and almanac apps rest on essentially this.

So if you ask whether today is a bad day, three people will point at three different squares: a Spanish-speaking friend asks which weekday it is, an English-speaking friend asks what date it is, and a Chinese elder asks what kind of day it is and what it permits or forbids.

Why this deserves a serious look

What I came to understand later is this: these taboos are not about days, they are about people. When the mother-in-law said “not that day”, she was not trying to block the wedding; she wanted it to land on a coordinate she could feel safe in. Number taboos work the same way — they give an uncertain thing a handle to hold.

That is also why they do not agree with each other: the shape of the handle is decided by each history, each scripture and each chain of retelling, not by the calendar itself.

The next time you meet a “not today”, add one step: make the taboo specific — unsuitable for what, why, and according to whom. You will find most of it lands on something concrete; the part that does not is usually called superstition, and it is often saying something the speaker cannot say directly. If you are stuck on a decision, rather than flipping through dates, write the question clearly, ask it through the real flow on 占卜迷指, take the corresponding chart and reading, and export it to look at.

Disclaimer: This article covers traditional culture and folklore and is intended for entertainment and self-reflection only. It is not medical, psychological, investment, legal or marriage advice. Do not submit ID numbers, detailed addresses or other sensitive personal information. If you experience persistent insomnia, anxiety or physical discomfort, please see a doctor or a qualified professional.

Sources

• Spanish Wikipedia, “Martes 13” (Tuesday feared in Spanish-speaking and Greek cultures; origins of the taboo on 13): https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martes_13
• Imperially Commissioned Concordance of Times and Directions (Siku Quanshu edition), volume 10, “Suitable and Unsuitable” (Wikisource): https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E6%AC%BD%E5%AE%9A%E5%8D%94%E7%B4%80%E8%BE%A8%E6%96%B9%E6%9B%B8_%28%E5%9B%9B%E5%BA%AB%E5%85%A8%E6%9B%B8%E6%9C%AC%29/%E5%8D%B710
• English Wikipedia, “Friday the 13th” (the fear in British and American culture): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th